Ensemble or kit
String quartet
Two violins, a viola and a cello; the standard chamber ensemble. Variants: quintet (a fifth string, a second viola or cello, sometimes a double bass), trio, sextet; the piano quartet and quintet add a piano. Made of existing instruments: parts: [violin x2, viola x1, cello x1].1
- Sources
- 5 (5 independent)
Mics sources recommend
10 setups from 5 sources, 5 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.
Studio
Close
- DPA 4006TL1 independent source
- Oktava MK-0121 independent source
- Sontronics Delta II1 independent source
- Sontronics Sigma II1 independent source
- condenser, narrow or wide pattern (single mic 1.5-2 m in front and above the violins; or one mic per pair)1 independent source
Room
- Sontronics Apollo II1 independent source
Main pair or array
- Oktava MK-0121 independent source
- Royer R-1211 independent source
- figure-of-eight crossed pair / Jecklin (Blumlein or Jecklin pair in a church)1 independent source
- ORTF pair + spaced omnis (ORTF pair in the centre plus two omni flanks about 3 ft apart)1 independent source
The 10 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close Sontronics Sigma IIclose, over and just in front of each violin, church
"On the violins I used the new Sigma II ribbon mic", on boom stands over the players, out of reach of the bows.
2 - Close Sontronics Delta IIclose, over and in front of viola and cello
Both viola and cello recorded with the Delta II "above and a little in front of the players".
2 - Room Sontronics Apollo IIroom, dead centre, about 10 m away
Stereo room mic about 10 m away; "The stereo image from this mic is stunning"; final mix about 50/50 room to close.
2 - Close 2 × condenser, narrow or wide pattern (single mic 1.5-2 m in front and above the violins; or one mic per pair)small section, close/intimate
Quartet or small section: a mic 1.5 to 2 metres in front and above the violins; for a closer sound one mic per pair (paraphrase).
3 - Close 2 × DPA 4006TLclose, chamber group, cello pair (omni, close pair, cello)
Richard King uses a close-spaced pair of DPA 4006 omnis for the cello with a left-centre-right 4006TL main rig (Goat Rodeo, not a quartet).
4 - Main pair or array 2 × Oktava MK-012main pair, Jecklin disc, medium church (omni pair on a Jecklin disc)
Poster: a home-made Jecklin disk with MK-012 omnis "turned out quite OK" for a live quartet gig; asks about a Decca tree for the next.
5 - Main pair or array 2 × ORTF pair + spaced omnis (ORTF pair in the centre plus two omni flanks about 3 ft apart)small chamber group, 4 mics
"I do small chamber groups with a 4 mic setup - an ORTF pair in center, with a pair of omni flanks about 3 feet spaced."
5 - Main pair or array 2 × figure-of-eight crossed pair / Jecklin (Blumlein or Jecklin pair in a church)main pair, church
A poster did both Blumlein and Jecklin for string quartet ("both are great"); another says Blumlein rarely works in churches.
5 - Close 2 × Oktava MK-012two-channel pair, budget
"Oktava mk12 are well regarded budget mics. Line Audio CM4 are also very good." (forum reply on a quartet pair)
6 - Main pair or array 2 × Royer R-121pair, quartet, budget to mid
Forum reply: the R-121 is a detailed ribbon; others include the Mesanovic model 2 and the AEA N8; cheap ribbons can be fine.
6
Layout
On stage, left to right: violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello. Quartets often rehearse and record in a circle or arc facing each other; in a church session the violinists, violist and cellist were arranged so the close mics were equidistant from each instrument, then panned to match. Whether the cello sits inside or outside differs between groups (not covered by a source here).1,2,6
Recording it
- Close mics: Production Expert's church session (Elite String Quartet) put Sontronics Sigma II ribbons over the violins and Delta II ribbons over the viola and cello, "above and a little in front of the players", out of the bows' reach, at equal distance from the f-holes to limit phase problems; a Sontronics Apollo II stereo ribbon (Blumlein) about 10 m away as a room mic; the final blend was about 50/50 room and close.
- Main pair only: a mic 1.5-2 m in front and above the violins, or one mic per pair of instruments for a closer sound; narrow-pattern mics need to be further away (SOS). Forum engineers use a Jecklin disc with omnis (Oktava MK-012) or a Decca tree in a church, Blumlein only where the room is not too reverberant, and an ORTF pair with two omni flanks about 3 ft apart for small chamber groups. For a budget two-channel setup a violinist's forum suggests Oktava MK 012 or Line Audio CM4 pairs, or ribbons. Richard King, on the Goat Rodeo sessions (a violin, cello, bass and mandolin group, not a quartet), used a left-centre-right DPA 4006TL main rig and a close pair of 4006s for the cello.
- Move a player a couple of inches rather than fixing balance with levels (omni technique).2,3,5,6,4
On stage
Clip-on mics on each instrument (DPA 4099 with violin and cello clips) are the stage answer;9,10
Problems to watch
Bow hits on a close mic; a viola lost in the middle of the texture (SOS: use a spot); a reverberant church makes Blumlein hard.2,3,5
About the range
See violin, viola and cello. The group is four near point-sized sources about a metre apart, so one stereo pair at 1.5-2 m above and in front can cover it (SOS). No level found for a quartet as a whole.3
How loud
Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.
Sources
- Wikipedia, String quartet
- Production Expert: Do You Know How To Record A String Quartet? (2018)
- Sound On Sound: Recording Strings
- Sound On Sound: Richard King, How To Record Acoustic Ensembles
- Taperssection forum: Jecklin disk versus Decca tree for string quartet
- Violinist.com forum: microphones for quartet
- Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)
- DAGA 2022: Rindel, On the importance of sound strength in music rehearsal rooms
- DPA Mic University: How to mic a violin
- DPA Mic University: How to mic a cello